Page 38 - Part 1 Navigating Electronic Media in a Healthcare Setting
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SVMIC Navigating Electronic Media in a Healthcare Setting
may end up calling greater attention to the issue and giving the
patient/poster credibility.
An acceptable defensive action that can be taken is to post a
generic response acknowledging the remark posted and
requesting that the poster contact the practice in order to discuss
the issue. For example, “It appears you have had a negative
experience, and it is the goal of our practice to ensure everyone
has a positive experience. Please call or visit our office so we can
discuss this issue in detail and attempt to resolve your complaint.”
This innocuous response takes further discussion offline and out of
the public domain. Plus, the practice/provider gets the benefit of
demonstrating the willingness to work and engage in a positive
way with patients.
Another suitable option would be to ask some of your loyal
patients if they would be willing to post positive reviews about
their experiences to offset the negative remark. Internet searches
normally pull up the most relevant and recent information relating
to the search request. The goal would be to outnumber the
negative review with multiple positive reviews.
If these attempts are not successful, and the patient continues to
post negative online comments, the practice should contact a
professional reputation management service. Most larger cities
have such services, and it is their job to repair clients’ reputations
that have been damaged online. As a last option, the practice or
provider should consult legal counsel to determine if there are any
legal options available to deal with the problem. In most cases,
online speech is protected by the First Amendment, but the
negative comments may have crossed the permissible line and
may constitute an exception such as defamation.
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